1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to presenting navigation information.
2. Description of the Related Art
A person visiting a new location may have many opportunities to get lost or to be unable to determine a route to a destination. For example, a person at an unfamiliar airport may have difficulty finding a check-in counter or gateway for a particular airline. As another example, a person visiting a large city can be confused as to his or her present position and where to go to reach a destination.
Several solutions have been developed to guide people. One solution is the typical “map-on-the-wall.” Many maps are available but maps can have some drawbacks such as when a visitor has no idea of where the destination is located on the map. Consequently, the visitor will spend a lot of time trying to find the destination on the map and determine a route to the destination. Generally, information displayed on the map is static and general purpose oriented.
Another solution is to have a staff member provide guidance. The staff member may be dedicated to providing information such as in an information booth or may be non-dedicated such as an employee passing by who can be asked a question. Non-dedicated employees may not be available or may not have information that the visitor is trying to find.
Obtaining guidance from people can have challenges. For one, the route may not be optimized. For another, the visitor may have to memorize the route. If the user gets lost, then the user must repeat the process of getting new navigation information from a map or staff person. In addition, external events such as labor strikes, accidents and maintenance diversions may not be taken into account in determining an optimized route.
Yet another solution is for the visitor to use a Global Positioning System (GPS) device. Drawbacks to GPS devices include that GPS is generally applicable to positioning outdoors and GPS devices are expensive.
Therefore, what are needed are techniques for providing navigation information to a visitor. Preferably, the techniques require little input by the visitor and do not require a device giving the navigation information be carried by the visitor.